3 Ways To Be More Honest With Yourself

So many people struggle with the self-honesty needed to grow personally and professionally. Frankly, it is easier to deflect blame to situations or to others, rather than reflecting on our selves. Kristin Sheffer, is sharing three simple self-awareness tips to help develop the self-honesty needed to see the real picture and understand the “why” behind our thoughts and actions. In Kristin’s words:

As a Personal Development Coach, I am intimately acquainted with the inner workings of the average person’s mind. Most of my clients come to me because they want to experience growth in a specific area of their life yet they feel ‘stuck.’ Each new client brings a unique set of strengths and struggles to the table, making my job very interesting. Despite each client’s uniqueness, I find that they all seem to share one thing in common – the struggle to be honest with themselves about themselves.

Personal growth is fundamentally reliant on the accuracy of our self-reflection. What self-honesty does is allow us to see things as they really are, not as we think they should or shouldn’t be. Often there are big differences between the two. It is only through honest self-assessment that we are able to paint a truthful picture of ourselves. This includes both our strengths and our weaknesses.

Here are three ways to be more honest with your self:

1. Listen to your THOUGHTS, not your FEELINGS.
Most times we pay the closest attention to what we feel. We make choices based on what inspires pleasure, and avoids pain. What’s interesting to note is that our feelings are preceded by our thoughts. Sometimes we do things we don’t necessarily understand and wonder why. By beginning to tune into the THOUGHT behind the FEELING, you will find some very interesting insights into yourself! You will even gain more self-control and feel more empowered to direct your life.

2. Journal Every Day
There are numerous benefits to capturing your thoughts through writing them down. If you think back to what you felt and did 5 months ago, I’d be willing to bet you can’t remember a whole lot. It’s not because it wasn’t important or meaningful, it’s just because we can’t possibly remember everything that goes on. This is problematic when something GOOD and POWERFUL happens within our mind or our life that we need to pay attention to or keep in mind. It helps create a ‘memory log’ of meaningful moments. It also helps you sort through thoughts and feelings that otherwise can get jumbled inside your own head.

3. Give Back
It might seem strange that this made the list of things that help you be more honest with yourself, but I assure you that it is not a mistake. The benefits of giving back to those around you are so vast I couldn’t fit them all here. When you choose to shift your focus outward (away from yourself and your own pain or problems), it can actually help you to gain a clearer perspective with regards to your own situation. This is a way of indirectly becoming more honest with your self. You will see that after you serve the homeless, help a child in need, or give the gift of love to anyone in dire need, you will return home with a new mindset of gratitude towards yourself and what you have.

Self-honesty helps you know who you are now. It helps you become aware of your beliefs so that you can remove the negatives and build on the positives. Then you will be able to determine who you want to become and how to get there.

Thanks to Kristin Sheffer, owner of Simply Free LLC for sharing her self awareness activities in this post. Learn more about Kristin and her personal development practice at http://www.simplysheffer.com.

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